Deception
by Cristi Pierce
Summary: Sylvia was born in Candor, but is probably the best liar you will ever know. Sorry, I stink at summaries. Please read! Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.
1. Chapter 1

My parents have always been distant. They always tended to leave me alone more than anything, that is, unless they "needed" to punish me

That's why I was so surprised to see my father waiting for me when I got home from school the day before the Aptitude Tests. I walked in the front room and was about to go up the stairs when my father calls, "Sylvia, come here."

I went into the living room and saw him in a recliner, reading a book. He looked up and put the book down.

"Sylvia, um, I have something to say. Could you please sit down?"

I sit on the couch.

"Look, I know your mother and I have not been the best parents-"

I snort.

"_But_," he pointedly looks at me, "I have come to the realization that you, no matter how much we try to convince you, will never be Candor."

I can't believe it. Did he just say he's come around to the idea that I won't be able to tell the truth all the time? And even more shocking, he calls beating me every time he's caught me lying since I was five, attempting to convince me? Amazing.

"I just wanted to tell you, Sylvia, that whatever you choose you have my full support."

That _really_ shocks me. The last couple of years he hasn't hit me as much, but that was because I have become such a good liar that I am almost never caught. This was completely out of the blue. Maybe he had an epiphany or something.

"Does mother feel the same way?" I ask hesitantly.

"Well," he begins, "I am trying to talk her around to it."

I nod, looking down.

"I know it's hard to believe, but your mother and I do love you."

I look up, glaring at him, "This won't change anything."

He sighs, "I know."

I get up and go to my room. I lay on my "bed," it's really just a mattress on the floor, and look around at the white walls. My room is smallish and next to empty. I only have a book case and a desk. What can I say? I'm a simple person.

I wonder what faction I belong in? Maybe Erudite? I have always had good grades. Or Dauntless? I _am_ known for standing up to bullies. Would that be Abnegation? I would never be Amity. Usually the way I stand up to bullying is by, um-bullying-back. I don't think I would be able to stay sane in Abnegation, though. I mean, never thinking about myself? That is as impossible as never lying!

I spend the rest of the night trying to figure it out.

**A/N: Review Please! I want to know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I got on the bus to go to school. It was full today and when I get on an old man starts to get up from his seat in the first row and offer it to me. I put a hand on his shoulder and gently push him back into his seat. He looks a bit confused. Not many people turn down Abnegation, but at school I am famous for it. I don't like other people making trouble for themselves for my sake.

The bus pulls up to the school, a bunch of students get off. Mostly Candor, Abnegation and Erudite. I look up at the school and sigh. It's my last day here. I wonder what it will bring.

I walk in the front doors, looking around at the people talking and laughing, trying to get as much out of this last day of childhood as they can. I have never had many friends, but I am not disliked. Not by ant stretch. An Amity girl, Hannah, walks up next to me. We have the same first class so we walk together.

"Hey, Syl!" she says happily. She's always been one of my better friends. She got every one to call me Syl in school this year.

"Hey," I smile up at her, she's really quite tall at five eleven and I'm five four. We must make a comical pair me being short, slight, with long, wavy black hair and her being tall, solid, with short curly blonde hair.

"Oh! I'm soo nervous for the Aptitude Tests! Are you?"

"Yeah."

"I don't now what I'm going to get, you know?"

"Well, maybe Candor? You talk enough for it," I joke.

She scowls at me, "No, I'm not good with being completely honest. Hey look over there."

She points to a water fountain where an Erudite boy was standing with his back against the wall looking nervously around. He was surrounded by Candor boys. I clench my fists and look up at her. She nods. I walk up to them casually. She can't do anything because she's Amity, we both know that she doesn't belong there. Their drugs don't work on her, either.

"Hey boys," I say, seemingly polite, "can I get a drink?"

The Candor boys turn around. One of them say, "Go somewhere else."

They were in my year, the Erudite, too. I frown, "That's not very polite."

"Like we care," another snorts.

"You should care," I growl.

"What's your problem, little girl?" The third asks me. He's only an inch taller than me!

"You."

They all laugh. The Erudite spots his chance to leave, but, quite unexpectedly, he doesn't. He squares his shoulders and says, "I wouldn't laugh at her. Don't you know who she is?"

"No and we don't care," one snapped. Any other Erudite would have cowered at that, but this one laughed. He must be crazy. He says delightedly, "Oh, I would care if I were you. That's Sylvia."

The boys look at me, startled.

Let me explain something. You know how I said that I am known for standing up to bullies? Well, last month I broke an Erudite's nose for attempting to beat up an Amity boy. No one saw me do it, and if you don't have any classes with me, chances are you don't know who I am, given that I don't talk to many people. I guess people imagine me to look tougher.

I smirk at the Candor boys. They mumble things about being late to class and rush off. All bark and no bite, I knew it.

The Erudite says cheerfully, "I'll see you around!" He runs off to class. Then, Hannah reminds me that we have to go to class, too.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: If you haven't noticed yet, this story has nothing to do with the plot line or characters of Divergent, I am just using the setting. There will be no up rising by the Erudite.**

**Thank you for reading! Thank you for reviewing! If you haven't reviewed yet, please do! Even if you didn't like it. I want to know what you think!**

* * *

The tests are after lunch. Everyone is in the cafeteria. I look around for Hannah as I enter. I quickly spot her blonde hair on the fringes of an Amity group. She is not facing me, so I walk up behind her and tap her shoulder. She looks at me and stands up, towering over me. We move to an empty table in the corner.

We never sit with our factions and do what we are supposed to. It's just not us, and people learned that a long time ago. We sit in anxious silence for a few minutes. I look at the doors to the Aptitude Tests. The doors are mirrors, so I see Hannah's and my reflection in them. Hannah's bleach blonde, curly hair is brushing her shoulders. Her old, crinkled red T-shirt, ripped yellow jeans and red sneakers. Very different than the typical loose yellow blouse, red flowing skirt, and yellow sandals of Amity girls. i am wearing a man's black dress shirt, a white tie, black jeans and white sneakers. A complete contrast to the average Candor girl that wears either and black and white striped dress with black dress shoes or a white blouse and black skirt and dress shoes.

As we wait for our names to be called I watch the other factions, trying to figure out where I belong. The Erudites are deep in their books, the Candors talking loudly and expressively, the Amity sitting and smiling and playing silly games, the Dauntless yelling, one gets on a table and dance around, and the Abnegations sitting quietly watching all that surrounds them.

I look over at Hannah She smiles a smile I think she hopes is reassuring, but it just looks nervous and shaky.

"It's going to be okay," I tell her gently.

"I know. I'm just thinking about if we can't see each other any more?"

"Well, if we aren't in the same faction, then there is only one option."

"What's that?"

"We become Council members."

She laughs, "Makes sense."

"It'll work out, I'm sure of it."

I am so not Candor.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it is so short. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I do not own Divergent.**

**I hope you like this next chapter.**

The next group is being called. Two from Dauntless, two from Erudite, then, "From Amity: Marc Anderson and Hannah Janes. From Candor: John Roberts and Sylvia Marcos." Two from Abnegation. Hannah and I stand and look at each other. We both attempt smile, but they are weak. We go into separate rooms.

Inside the mirrored door is a mirrored room and an Abnegation man of about forty years. His plain gray clothes and tan skin repeat themselves over and over in the room as he beckons me forward with the wave of his hand. He is standing next to a recliner chair with a machine next to it.

I walk up beside the chair, waiting. He is busy with the machine with his back turned to me, but he glances at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Sit down, please," he says in a school teacher's patient voice. I sit in the chair. I am so nervous. I take a deep breathe and try to calm myself down.

"So, you are Sylvia Marcos?" he asks turning towards me.

"Yes sir," I didn't mean to say sir, but it sort of lipped out. I bite my lip uncertainly. He smiles quickly, then it disappears.

"Mt son sometimes talks of you. He says you refuse Abnegation help."

I nod, "It is unneeded for them to help me if it only causes problems for them."

He nods and turns back to the machine. When he turns back around he hooks me up with electrodes. It feels odd. He gives me a vial with clear liquid, "Drink up."

"Why?"

"Trust me, it's just part of the test."

I drink, I blink.

* * *

When my eyes open again I am in the school cafeteria. It is completely empty, just clean tables. Except the one in front of me. This table has two baskets. One with cheese and one with a long knife.

"Choose," I hear a lady's voice behind me.

I glance back, but no one is there. Weird.

I look back at the baskets. I should prepare for anything. I reach out to take both, but the lady says, "Choose only one."

I reply, "No," and take them both.

The baskets disappear and the lady doesn't say another thing. I take a bite of cheese. I hear a door open. I spin around, pointing my knife at the door. A dog comes through. I have always liked dogs, but this one doesn't look so friendly. It is crouching and growling at me. My immediate reaction is to stab it with the knife, but I don't want to kill it. I straighten my back and take another bite of cheese, waiting for it to get closer. Then, I slowly put down the knife and cheese. I am now in a crouching position. I remember that there are two ways of fending off a hostile dog, summation or dominance. No way am I going to submit. I look up into the dog's eye. The dog is just a few feet away. I growl. It takes another step and I lunge. I use one hand to push its snout up and my other to pull it down on its side. I land on top of it. The dog tries to scratch me and succeeds. I also remember that to state your dominance, grab it on the neck scruff and force its head down. I do this and it still is fighting, so I lean close to its ear and growl, looking it straight in the eye and show my teeth. The dog stops fighting, whimpers, avoids eye contact, and its tail is between the dog's legs. I get off of it and start to pet it. The dog warily sits up an and then licks my face. I look up and see a girl in a white dress.

"Puppy!" she exclaims and before I could tell her to stop, she is running a towards the dog. I try to grab the dog, but it slips through my arms and shoots after her. I don't think, I just lunge at the dog, knocking it over, just before it reaches the girl.

I land on the ground, I am in the testing room. The girl and the dog are gone. I get up and look at the mirrors, but my reflection is not there. The room is empty. I turn and go out the door. The door leads to a bus, weird. The bus is full and there is no seat left, so I grab a pole and stand in the aisle. A man sitting near me is reading the newspaper.

"Do you know this guy?" he asks as he points to a picture of a man on the front page. I glance at the headlines and see one word. Murder.

"Well?"

A chill washes over me. A feeling of dread courses through my veins.

"Do you?"

An unreasonable fear grips me. I feel like I do know the man, but if I say yes, I will be in terrible danger. I take a deep breathe.

I hesitate.

"Do you?" he repeats.

"No." This is crazy, I don't have any reason to be afraid. I take a deep breathe, slow down my pounding heart and relax.

He stands up, a snarl on his face. I square my shoulders and glare into his dark sunglasses. It's obvious he has never won any beauty pageants. He is covered in scars and smells like tobacco.

"You're lying," he says, "You're lying!"

"I'm Candor, I don't lie."

"I can see it in your eyes!"

"How can you see anything with those glasses?" I am so scared. I take a breathe, man his breathe STINKS!

"If you know him," he says in a low voice, "you could save me!"

I stand up straight and take a small step forward, "I don't know him, so stop harassing me."

**A/N: Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry its so short. Thank all of you who reviewed and read. I am truly grateful! Now, i going to do a little harmless advertising here. I have a fan fiction for Maximum Ride and I think you should check it out. Please!**

**I do not own Divergent.**

I awake, the bright mirrored room a surprising jolt from the dingy bus. The man on the bus was fake. I sit up, after the Abnegation man takes the electrodes off of me. He is frowning.

"You never gave me your name," I tell him.

"Jonas Quinn."

"What's wrong Mr. Quinn?"

"Well, your results were... interesting."

"How?"

"Let me explain how this test works. The simulation sets up a series of events designed to eliminate one or more of the factions."

I nod as he hesitates.

"In the first scenario, with the baskets, Amity would be repulsed by the knife and chose the cheese. Dauntless would choose the knife. You chose both. Then with the dog you didn't give it the cheese. Your immediate reaction was to fight, showing Dauntless, but Dauntless would've killed it with the knife. You threw the knife down. This shows some Amity. That you knew how to fight the dog effectively shows the child, you protected her, using yourself as a shield. That is an Abnegation quality. I still didn't know about Candor, so you went to the bus. You obviously had the urge to tell the truth, Abnegation maybe? I would think Candor, but in the end, you lied. This eliminated Candor, the only faction eliminated. You are Divergent."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in any of my stories. I have had a very busy summer. But that is no excuse! I am deeply sorry and hope you can accept my apology. Wow, that sounded more serious then I meant it to. Read and Enjoy! (Hopefully)**

**I do not own Divergent**

Divergent!? Oh no! No, no, no! If you're found out to be Divergent by the general public, well, let's just say the options are not good. Luckily only the government will know, and as long as you fit into the faction you choose and don't cause trouble, they don't care. However, some people are _very_ against all Divergent and want to wipe them out. I will keep it a secret. Thank God I'm not Candor.

I look at the man, "Will you tell?"

"No, I'll enter it in and forget about it."

"So what did I score most strongly in?"

"Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, Abnegation."

"Okay, thank you," I say, a little shaky. I can't believe I got four.

"You can leave through that door," Mr. Quinn motions toward the door I came in through.

"Thank you, again." I walk out into the loud cafeteria. I see Hannah at the table we were at before. When I get there, I sit down with a sigh. She has her head on the table. We sit in silence for a minute as more kids go into the testing rooms. She raises her head and asks, "Will my parents hate me?"

"No, they are Amity, they will understand."

She nods and puts her head back down. The rest of the teenagers go and soon it is quiet. They are thinking about their future. We all go home soon after that, Hannah and i say goodbye in solemn whispers. I don't take the bus home. Instead I walk through the Factionless part of the city. Sometimes, when there is no school I explore the whole city. At first because I wanted to get away from home, then to figure out what happened. Was it just old or did something cause destruction? The more and more I looked through the years the more I thought that something like a battle or natural disaster.

I always bring food. I like meeting the Factionless. They are nice, if you have something for them and if you are polite.

A lady comes out of an alley. It's Sally. She's a friend that failed out of Candor about four years ago. I grab an apple out of my pocket and hand it to her. She takes it and shoves it into her pocket.

"So you took the Aptitude Test?" She asks.

"Yeah," I say softly.

"So, how did it go?"

"Okay."

"Hmm... doesn't sound okay. You are Divergent aren't you?"

"What?" Sally has always been able to read me, and people in general, very well, but I hadn't expected her to know this quickly.

She smiled crookedly, "Don't bother lyin' missy! Don't worry, though, it's between you and me. Now I'm gonna get everyone else."

"Everyone else? I don't have much food."

"That's okay, you brought all of us something at one point or another." She winks and runs back into the alley. A few minutes later a small crowd of people come out of the alley. A few children, but mostly adults.

Blake, Jimmy, and Ivory run up to me and hug me as I stare at all the people. There must be twenty of them!

"Why are all of you here?" I ask, bewildered.

"To threaten you," Ivory says in mock seriousness, obviously holding back laughter.

Blake throws a lanky arm around my shoulder, which is a little awkward because he is twenty one and slightly shorter than my five one and grins, " You dare join us, and you will be sorry."

Jimmy, a bear of a 25 year old, picks black up and moves him away from me . Ivory, who is 26 and a little taller than me, smiles at Jimmy, her husband. Ivory was born Factionless, but Jimmy dropped out of Erudite. He is Divergent, but never let it slip until he joined the Factionless, because the Factionless don't care.

"What the #!*% are all these Factionless doing here? What's going on? Won't you get in trouble if you get caught in such a large group?"

"We will be fine," Sandy assures me,"We figured we won't be able to see you much after you get a Faction, so we decided the sat farewell, at least for a little while."

"But, all these people?"

"It's the smallest number we could get," Blake says cheerfully.

I simply stare at them. I don't even know why two people showed up let alone twenty.

The crowd says together, "We'll miss you!"

"I'm not leaving!" I tell them. I have never seen so many Factionless in one place, let alone this many smiling Factionless faces.

Jimmy, who is generally silent whispers, "Do you promise not to forget about us?"

"I promise."

"Okay," shouts Sandy, " Time to go home!"

Everyone immediately disperses. Sandy is kind of a leader among the Factionless.

Only Blake, Jimmy, Ivory and Sandy are left and they decide to walk me to the edge of the Factionless territory.

As we walk Blake asks me, " So, which Faction are you gonna choose?"

I shrug, "Can't tell you that."

"I know it's against the rules, but you can tell me!"

I shake my head, looking at him with a fake stern face, "I cannot break the rules."

Everyone bursts our laughing. I'm actually not sure if it is against the rules the hang out with the Factionless, but we assume its frowned upon. Of course, there is other things that aren't exactly allowed, like lying and snooping around the city's buildings. I have a natural curiosity.

"But seriously, choose wisely. YOu are a good person. Don't end up with us," Jimmy advises me.

I nod. We walk in silence for the next few minutes, til we are at the border. I say good bye and hug each of them. It will be some time until I see them again.


End file.
